Jim Madden

James Edward Madden (born 12 April 1958) is an Australian politician. He has been the Labor member for Ipswich West in the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2015.[1]

Jim Madden

MP
Jim Madden, 2014
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Ipswich West
Assumed office
31 January 2015
Preceded bySean Choat
Personal details
Born (1958-04-12) 12 April 1958
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLabor
Alma materUniversity of Queensland
Queensland University of Technology
OccupationAgronomist
ProfessionLawyer

Early life and education

Madden was born and raised in Ipswich.[2] He is a fifth generation Ipswich West resident since his family came to Australia from Ireland in 1863.[2][3][4] He attended St Mary's Primary School and went on to graduate from St Edmund's College.[2] He studied horticulture and agriculture at UQ Gatton before working as an agronomist.[3] He later studied law at QUT.[3] In his maiden speech Madden stated that perhaps his proudest achievement was, along with his late mother, successfully reviving the tradition of the discontinued Anzac Day service at Woodend in 1999, which now attracts a crowd of 1,000 people.[5][6][7]

Career

Before the 2015 election, Madden was a lawyer and councillor for Somerset Regional Council from 2012 to 2015.[2][4]

Queensland state election results

Jim Madden was the Labor candidate for Ipswich West in the 2015 Queensland state election. He ran against sitting Liberal National member Sean Choat. Madden won the district with 57.72 percent of the two-party-preferred vote and a positive swing of 14.87 percent.[3][8]

Madden was re-elected after the 2017 Queensland state election with 58.7 percent of the two-candidate-preferred vote.[9]

At the 2020 Queensland state election, Madden was re-elected with 50.1 percent of the first preference vote and 64.3 percent of the two-candidate-preferred vote.[10]

Member for Ipswich West

In October 2015, Liberal National member Ian Rickuss called some Labor MPs, including Madden, "drag queens".[11] Madden responded that Rickuss was "out of touch" and that "jokes made at the expense of the LGBTI community are unacceptable now."[11]

In December 2015, Madden stepped down from Parliament's ethics committee after taking responsibility for a suspected leak.[12] Ethics committee members were prohibited from revealing information about their deliberations.[13] He thought his comments to a Queensland Times journalist were "innocuous" but admitted he "should not have spoken to him at all."[12] He said this mistake was due to his inexperience as a "relatively new member of Parliament and the ethics committee."[12] He received no further punishment for his role in the leak.[13]

In February 2016, Madden supported the proposed lockout laws since be believed they were proven effective elsewhere and would address alcohol-fuelled violence.[14][15]

In March 2017, Madden supported the Criminal Law Amendment Bill which removed "unwanted sexual advancements" as a partial defence for defendants accused of murder.[16] He described the previous law as a "gay panic defence" which was "archaic".[16] He said the message of the legislation was that discrimination was "not acceptable and that we value the LBGTI community".[16]

In October 2018, he voted in favour of a bill which made abortion available, on request, up to 22 weeks' gestation and introduced "safe access zones" of 150 metres around clinics.[17] Madden supported an amendment lowering the gestation limit from 22 to 16 weeks.[18]

Personal life

Madden is a practicing Catholic.[19][20]

See also

References
  1. Green, Antony. "Ipswich West". Queensland Election 2015. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015.
  2. "Jim Madden - ALP Queensland". Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. "Ipswich West - Queensland Election 2015 - Qld Election 2015 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  4. "Jim Madden to run for Labor in Ipswich West". Sunshine Coast Daily. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  5. Madden, Jim (6 May 2015). "Maiden Speech" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  6. Andrew Korner, 'Inspirational life of a city trailblazer', Queensland Times, 23 January 2016 <https://www.qt.com.au/news/inspirational-life-of-a-city-trailblazer/2907372
  7. Kieran Banks, 'Driver ruins war memorial', Queensland Times, 20 August 2012 <https://www.qt.com.au/news/our-war-history-in-pieces-driver-ruins-memorial/1510394>
  8. 2015 State General Election - Ipswich West - District Summary Archived 16 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, ECQ.
  9. Queensland Election 2017. Electorate: Ipswich West. ABC.net.au
  10. Ipswich West - QLD Election 2020 Electorate, Candidates, Results | QLD Votes. ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
  11. "Queensland LNP MP Ian Rickuss slammed for seemingly anti-gay slur". Star Observer. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  12. "Jo-Ann Miller quits Cabinet after demotion from Police Minister". ABC News. 4 December 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  13. "Madden avoids ethics probe over media leak". Caboolture News. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  14. "Howard and Madden say lock out laws will work". The Reporter. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  15. "Lockout laws to save government millions". Sunshine Coast Daily. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  16. "Gay panic ditched as partial murder defence". Sunshine Coast Daily. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  17. Horn, Allyson. Abortion legalised in Queensland after historic vote in Parliament. ABC News Australia. October 17, 2018.
  18. Caldwell, Felicity. Abortion will no longer be a crime in Queensland after historic vote. Brisbane Times. October 17, 2018.
  19. "Qld abortion bill: Pyne hails victory over committee split". Brisbane Times. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  20. "We asked Queensland MPs what they think about Rob Pyne's abortion bill. Here's the verdict". The Catholic Leader. 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by
Sean Choat		 Member for Ipswich West
2015–present		 Incumbent
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